Wire collecting table



Aug. 31, 1965 w. J- MANSON 3,203,639

WIRE COLLECTING TABLE Filed OCb. 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIGQI j /NVENro/i. V Wolter J.Monson WMM ATTORNEYS WIRE COLLECTING TABLE Filed Oct. 8. 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Woher J. Monson ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent() 3,203,639 WRE COLLECTING TABLE Walter J. Manson, South Bend, Ind., assignor to National- Standard Company, Niles, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 229,128 1 Claim. (Cl. 242-83) This invention relates to a fiat, table-like, device for .collecting helically formed wires, tubes and similar relatively stiff linear materials, which, when in coil form, do not require internal support.

The invention is particularly suited for the collection of Wires and tubes which are continuously formed into the shape of a horizontal, advancing helix as they are fed to a treatment zone, internally supported by one or more horizontal rollers for a distance constituting the treatment zone while being treated and then collected in the form of a compact coil or bundle at the end of the treatment zone. Such coils have previously been co1- lected on an extension of the horizontal internal support therefore or the coils have been guided from the horizontal support to a collecting device having a vertical core and axis as disclosed in my U.S. Patents Nos. 2,949,250 and 2,994,490. In the latter devices, the collecting device when filled is removed with the wire collected wound about the axial core thereof and an empty collecting device is moved into place to collect subsequently treated w1re.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide a platform or table type of collecting platform having a vertical axis, from which the Wire can be removed as a coil when sufficient wire is collected thereon and whereupon the same table-like collecting platform continues to collect freshly treated wire.

The objects of the invention are attained by providing a rotatable, horizontal platform with a vertical axis at the end of the horizontal storage device, providing means for 4positively rotating the storage device in synchronism with the feed of the wire and means for guiding the wire from its position of Ia helix with a horizontal axis to a position on the collecting platform of a helix with a vertical axis.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a side view of a treating apparatus with the collecting device of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the collecting device.

In the side view of FIG. l, the wire at the right hand side is shown passing upwardly through the propelling rollers 11, straightening rollers 12 and 13 and curving roller 14; in actual practice these devices are ordinarily arranged to feed the wire horizontally but since it is possible to feed the wire toward storage rollers 20, in any direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of roller 20, the upward feeding has been shown in order to include the entire apparatus in one ligure. Thus, the wire 10 coming from a substantially continuous source of wire is propelled by a pair of rollers 11 (only one shown) `and pushed thereby through horizontal straightening device v12, vertical straightening device 13 and curving roller 14 which is sufficiently out of alignment with the rollers of 12 and 13 to make the Wire passed thereover curved into the shape of a helix which is fed to a pair of parallel storage rollers 20, 20'.

While on storage rollers 20, the suspended portions of the wire 10 dips in and out of a plurality of tanks 21, 22. After coming from the last tank 22, the wire is passed under compression roller 23 which is positioned between the rollers 20, 20 with its lower periphery adjustably positioned by means of adjusting screw 24 to atten the curvature of the wire and thus expand the circumference of the coils of the helix.

3,203,639 Patented Aug. 31, 1965 ice From the roller 23, one or more expanded coils of the helix are held on rollers 20, 20' and then the axis of the helical coil is made to curve by passing a coil over the extended guide devices 30, 30'. Each of guide devices 30, 30' comprises three freely rotating rollers as the rollers 31, 32, 33 of guide 30. The rotating platform and collecting device 40 is positioned below and symmetrically with respect to the two supporting rollers 20, 20 so that the coil dropping down onto the table is approximately centered. This is shown in FIG. 2 although the guide device 30 over which the wire passes last may be slightly in advance of the device 30. In FIG. l, the collecting device 40 has been shifted in toward the remainder of the machine to maintain a scale of drawing fairly large.

The collecting table or platform 40 is mounted on a vertical axle 41 which is driven by motor 42. Positioned below the peripheral edges of the platform 40 are four equally spaced, freely rotating supporting rollers 44, 45, 46, 47. Radially ixed to the upper side of the platform 40 are a plurality of reinforcing and spacing strips 48 which serve to space the collected wire from the platform 40 and enable one to pass tying means under a collected bundle of wire.

FIG. 1 also illustrates, somewhat diagrarmnatically, how the various parts of the machine are driven.

The Varidyne unit 51 is a frequency generator. It supplies power to the three drive units 42, 52 and 53. By manually changing the frequency output, the output speeds of the three drive units are proportionately changed. Motor 42, which drives the turntable 40, is a gearhead motor. The gear ratio is such that it will collect an approximate 36 diameter coil at a circumferential speed which is the same as the speed of wire traveling through the plater. Motor 52 which drives the top rolls 20 and 20 is also a gearhead A.C. motor. Motor 53 is a Varidrive unit, the output speed of which is changed in unison with the other two drive units by frequency variation. In addition to this, a trimming control is necessary to perfectly match the speed at which the wire or tubing is driven through the straightener with the circumferential speed of the top rolls. This is accomplished by means of the size control switch 54, 55. If the coil diameter becomes too large-indicating that the speed of the Varidrive is too fastit will contact a maximum-size, lower switch -54 and slow down the Varidyne; conversely, if the coil diameter becomes too small, it Will speed up the Varidyne through contact 55. This trimming control is necessary because it is impossible to perfectly match the driving diameters of the rolls, which push the material through the straightener, to the diameter of the top rolls. However, any manual change in plating speed is taken care of by frequency change.

In operation, the wire or tube is pushed or propelled by rollers 11, continuously straightned, curved'to helical shape, and fed to storage rollers 20, 20 and while on said storage rollers is treated in a series of baths, the last of which is bath 22. On leaving the last bath 22, the diameter of the helical wire or tube is preferably expanded by roller 23 and the expanded helix is curved about its axis by guides 30, 30 and allowed to fall onto rotating platform or table 40. The speed of rotation of platform 40 is such that the wire or tube which falls thereon is taken up as fast as it falls so that the platform 40 collects the wire or tube in a compact helical bundle of approximately the same diameter as that of the expanded helix. When suilicient wire has been collected on platform 40, the wire is cut at some point between platform 40 and expanding roller 23, tying means is passed around the collected bundle through the space between reinforcing pieces 48 and of the platform and then the bundle is removed. The bundle can be removed without requiring that the machine be stopped.

The features and principles underlying the invention described above in connection with specific exemplications will suggest to those skilled in the art many other modifications thereof. It is accordingly desired that the appended claim shall not be limited to any specific feature or details thereof.

I claim:

In a device for collecting wire from a continuous source of Wire in the form of a rotating and advancing helix with a horizontal axis and comprising an electrically operated, positive feeding means for said Wire helix,

a substantially circular platform mounted for rotation on a vertical axis,

relatively narrow elongated means projecting above the surface of said platform extending in a general radial direction adapted to hold the wire that is co1- lected above the surface of said platform so that open spaces are formed between portions of the collected wire and the portion of the platform adjacent to the projecting means, to provide access to the lower surface of the collected Wire, said platform being otherwise flat and unencumbered,

electrically operated means for positively rotating said platform,

and rneans for driving the electrically operated rotating means for the collecting platform in synchronism with the electrically operated feeding means for said helix whereby the helical Wire can be deposited as a circular bundle on said platform in unencumbered untangled coils and whereby said wire may be cut and the bundle removed from the platform without interrupting the operation of the Wire feeding means or the movement of the Wire.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 20 RUSSELL C. MADER, Primary Examiner.

MERVIN STEIN, Examiner'. 

